Nights when nothing happened / Simon Han, 262 pgs.
The Cheng family seems successful from the outside. The parents immigrated from China then brought their son...a daughter was born a bit later. In the end, the Chinese origin story seems minor compared to the inner workings of the family and the struggles that each endures apart from the others. When Annabel has a friend over for a Thanksgiving gathering, a series of misunderstandings lead to the belief that she has experienced a "bad touch" and soon her father is under investigation. The relationships of the 4 family members leave doubt about who is guilty of what...they seem to have very little trust in each other and are struggling with their own internal demons. It takes this bigger event to move them towards a reckoning with their own struggles. Is it a dysfunctional family or a group of dysfunctional individuals? Who cares? This is my sweet spot!
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